No, this is completely irrelevant.

As a third party, you have exactly two options given the U.S. voting system as it usually stands.

(1) Win outright.

(2) Split the vote with the candidate who is better aligned with your side, giving the win to those most diametrically opposed to you.

Version (2) is the most bafflingly terrible way to grow support: by running, you muck up everything that your most likely supporters-to-be care about. How do you "grow" by punishing those who are most favorably disposed towards you? Version (1) is impossible.

The only thing third parties can do is organize but not run any candidates and instead work on changing the voting system to IRV or an even less-easily-gamed ranked-choice system. Then you have a chance to organize support and argue for your side of things and have it pull in the positive direction instead of the negative one.